Brain Mechanisms Underlying Changes in Neural Oscillations through Adolescent Cognitive Maturation

项目摘要 青春期的特点是执行功能的改善，可塑性的增加，以及持续的 神经机制的完善。重要的是，这也是神经生物学机制活跃的时候。 如果偏离了典型的神经发育，可能导致精神病理学的出现。到 了解非典型的大脑成熟如何导致神经精神疾病，典型的青少年 需要更好地理解发展。先前的人类和动物死后模型显示 兴奋性谷氨酸变化引起的兴奋性/抑制性（E/I）平衡的发育变化 和抑制性γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）神经递质。E/I余额的减少 显示通过稳定伽马振荡来优化支持认知控制的神经系统， 由小清蛋白（PV）GABA能中间神经元产生，可通过脑电图测量 （EEG）。然而，人们对E/I平衡的发展变化及其影响的了解有限 这一关键发育期的神经机制。因此，该项目旨在 研究E/I平衡的变化，这与平衡的发展变化有关。 谷氨酸和GABA，以表征神经典型青少年认知的神经元基础 发展为了做到这一点，我们将1）评估神经活动的发展变化， 记忆及其与谷氨酸和GABA的关联，使用多模式神经成像技术，包括 脑电图（EEG）、7 T磁光谱成像（MRSI）（Aim 1），以及 立体脑电图（sEEG）（目的2），以及2）使用计算建模来识别微观水平 青少年大脑发育的神经基础（目标3）。在这个过程中，候选人将获得 在技术方法方面的宝贵知识，如数据收集，分析，计算建模， 临床神经科学，以及书面和口头交流。这项研究将促进我们对 神经型青少年发育，这是评估发育受损的关键一步， 导致精神病理学，主要出现在青春期（例如，精神病，情绪障碍， 物质使用障碍）。总之，这个项目将支持候选人成为专家的能力 生物工程精神病学研究员，整合工程原理和发展认知 神经科学可以为心理健康领域提供信息。

Project Summary Adolescence is characterized by improvements in executive function, increased plasticity, and the continued refinement of neuronal mechanisms. Importantly, it is also a time when neurobiological mechanisms are actively specializing, where strays from neurotypical development may lead to the emergence of psychopathology. To understand how atypical brain maturation may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders, typical adolescent development needs to be better understood. Previous postmortem human and animal models have shown developmental changes in the excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance derived from changes in the excitatory glutamate and inhibitory Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) neurotransmitters. Decreases in the E/I balance have been shown to optimize neural systems supporting cognitive control through the stabilization of gamma oscillations, generated by parvalbumin (PV) GABAergic interneurons and measurable through electroencephalography (EEG). However, there is limited understanding of the developmental changes in the E/I balance and its impact on the neuronal mechanisms characterizing this critical period of development. Thus, this project aims to investigate the shift in the E/I balance, as implicated by developmental changes in the balance of glutamate and GABA, to characterize the neuronal underpinnings of neurotypical adolescent cognitive development. To accomplish this, we will 1) assess developmental changes in neural activity underlying working memory and its association with glutamate and GABA using multimodal neuroimaging techniques, including electroencephalography (EEG), 7T Magnetic Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) (Aim 1), and stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) (Aim 2), and 2) use computational modeling to identify the micro-level neuronal underpinnings of adolescent brain development (Aim 3). During this process, the candidate will gain invaluable knowledge in technical methodologies, such as data collection, analysis, computational modeling, clinical neuroscience, and written and oral communication. This study will advance our understanding of neurotypical adolescent development, which is a critical step towards assessing impaired development that can lead to psychopathology, which predominantly emerges in adolescence (e.g., psychosis, mood disorders, substance use disorders). Altogether, this project will support the ability of the candidate to become an expert bioengineering-psychiatry researcher, integrating engineering principles and developmental cognitive neuroscience that can inform the mental health field.